Client-server electronic program guide

ABSTRACT

A client-server interactive television program guide system is provided. An interactive television program guide client is implemented on user television equipment. The interactive television program guide provides users with an opportunity to define expressions that are processed by the program guide server. The program guide server may provide program guide data, schedules reminders, schedules program recordings, and parentally locks programs based on the expressions. Users&#39; viewing histories may be tracked. The program guide server may analyze the viewing histories and generates viewing recommendations, targets advertising, and collects program ratings information based on the viewing histories.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/355,536, filed Feb. 15, 2006 now abandoned, which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/298,274, filed May 21, 2002 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,065,709), which is a divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/374,043, filed Aug. 13, 1999 (now U.S. Pat. No.6,898,762), which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 60/097,538, filed Aug. 21, 1998. All of these priorapplications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to interactive television program guide systems,and more particularly, to interactive television program guide systemsbased on client-server arrangements.

Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide viewers witha large number of television channels. Users have traditionallyconsulted printed television program schedules to determine the programsbeing broadcast at a particular time. More recently, interactivetelevision program guides have been developed that allow televisionprogram information to be displayed on a user's television. Interactivetelevision program guides, which are typically implemented on set-topboxes, allow users to navigate through television program listings usinga remote control. In a typical program guide, various groups oftelevision program listings are displayed in predefined or user-selectedcategories. Program listings are typically displayed in a grid or table.On-line program guides have been proposed that require users to navigatethe Internet to access program listings.

Client-server based program guides have been proposed in which programlistings are stored on a server at a cable system headend. The serverprovides the program listings to program guide clients implemented onthe set-top boxes of a number of users associated with each headend. Asusers navigate within a program listings grid, the server providesprogram listings to the client for display. Such systems, may be limitedin their functionality due to their limited use of the resources of theserver.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide aninteractive television program guide system in which server resourcesare used to provide enhanced program guide features not provided byconventional set-top-box-based or client-server-based program guides.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This and other objects of the present invention are accomplished inaccordance with the principles of the present invention by providing aclient-server based interactive television program guide system in whicha main facility (e.g., a satellite uplink facility or a facility thatfeeds such an uplink facility) provides data from one or more datasources to a number of television distribution facilities such as cablesystem headends, broadcast distribution facilities, satellite televisiondistribution facilities, or other suitable distribution facilities. Someof the data sources may be located at different facilities and havetheir data provided to the main facility for localization anddistribution or may provide their data to the television distributionfacilities directly. The data provided to the television distributionfacilities includes television programming data (e.g., titles, channels,content information, rating information, program identifiers, seriesidentifiers, or any other information associated with televisionprogramming), and other program guide data for additional services otherthan television program listings (e.g., weather information, associatedInternet web links, computer software, etc.). The main facility (andother sources) may provide the program guide data to the televisiondistribution facilities via a satellite link, a telephone network link,a cable or fiber optic link, a microwave link, an Internet link, acombination of such links, or any other suitable communications link.

Each television distribution facility has a program guide server. Ifdesired, program guide servers may also be located at cable systemnetwork nodes or other facilities separate from the televisiondistribution facilities or other distribution facilities. Each programguide server stores the program guide data provided by the main facilityand provides access to the program guide data to program guide clientsimplemented on the user television equipment of a number of usersassociated with each television distribution facility. The program guideservers may also store user data, such as user preference profiles,parental control settings, record and reminder settings, viewinghistory, and other suitable data.

Providing program guide data with a program guide server and storinguser data on the server may provide users with opportunities to performvarious functions that may enhance the users' television viewingexperience. Users may, for example, set user preference profiles orother favorites that are stored by the program guide server and used bythe server to customize the program guide viewing experience for theuser. The program guide server may filter program guide data based onthe user preference profiles. Only data that is of interest to the usermay then be provided to the guide client, thereby tending to minimizethe memory requirements of the user's television equipment and lessenthe bandwidth requirements of the local distribution network.

A client-server based architecture may also provide users with theability to search and sort through program related information in waysthat might not otherwise be possible due to the limited processing andstorage capabilities of the users' television equipment. If desired,users may be provided with access to program guide data withoutrequiring them to navigate the Internet. Users may, for example, definesophisticated boolean or natural language expressions having one or morecriteria for searching through and sorting program guide data,scheduling reminders, automatically recording programs and parentallycontrolling programs. The criteria may also be derived by the programguide server or program guide client from user profiles or by monitoringusage of the program guide. The criteria may be stored on the programguide server. Users may be provided with an opportunity to access,modify, or delete the expressions.

The program guide server may also track the users' viewing histories toprovide a user-customized program guide experience. Programs or seriesof episodes users have watched may be identified and used by the programguide, for example, to inform users when there are showings in theseries that the users have not watched. The program guide may, forexample, provide viewing recommendations based on a user's viewinghistory and, if appropriate, on user preference profiles or othercriteria stored by the program guide server. The program guide may alsotarget advertisements toward users based on the viewing histories orcriteria, and may track the viewing of programs to generate viewershipratings.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative system inaccordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 2 a, 2 b, and 2 c show illustrative arrangements for theinteractive program guide equipment of FIG. 1 in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative schematic block diagram of a user televisionequipment of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a generalized schematic block diagram of portions of theillustrative user television equipment of FIG. 3 in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative main menu screen in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative program listings by time screen in accordancewith the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative program listings by channel screen inaccordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIGS. 8 a-8 c are illustrative program listings by category screens inaccordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 9 a is an illustrative boolean type criteria screen in accordancewith the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 9 b is an illustrative natural language criteria screen inaccordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative agents screen in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative program listings screen in which programlistings found according to the illustrative expressions of FIGS. 9 aand 9 b are displayed in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative setup screen in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

FIGS. 13 a-13 f show illustrative preference profile screens inaccordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows an illustrative profile activation screen in accordancewith the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows a table containing an illustrative list of programs thatmight be available to a user after defining the preference profiles ofFIGS. 13 a-13 f in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 16 a-16 c are illustrative program listings screens that may bedisplayed according to the preference profiles of FIGS. 13 a-13 f inaccordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIGS. 17 a and 17 b show illustrative criteria screens in accordancewith the principles of the present invention.

FIGS. 18 and 19 show illustrative program reminder lists generatedaccording to the expressions of FIGS. 17 a and 17 b in accordance withthe principles of the present invention.

FIGS. 20 a and 20 b show an illustrative viewer recommendation overlay,in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 20 c shows an illustrative additional information screen inaccordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in providing userswith an opportunity to define preference profiles and access programguide data according to the preference profiles in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in providing userswith an opportunity to search program guide data, other information, andvideos in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in processing andusing expressions in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in tracking andusing viewing histories in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An illustrative system 10 in accordance with the present invention isshown in FIG. 1. Main facility 12 may provide program guide data fromdata source 14 to interactive television program guide equipment 17 viacommunications link 18. There may be multiple program guide data sourcesin main facility 12 but only one has been shown to avoidover-complicating the drawing. If desired, program guide data sourcesmay be located at facilities separate from main facility 12 such as atlocal information services 15, and may have their data provided to mainfacility 12 for localization and distribution. Data sources 14 may beany suitable computer or computer-based system for obtaining data (e.g.,manually from an operator, electronically via a computer network orother connection, or via storage media) and placing the data intoelectronic form for distribution by main facility 12. Link 18 may be asatellite link, a telephone network link, a cable or fiber optic link, amicrowave link, an Internet link, a combination of such links, or anyother suitable communications link. Video signals may also betransmitted over link 18 if desired.

Local information service 15 may be any suitable facility for obtainingdata particular to a localized region and providing the data to mainfacility 12 or interactive television program guide equipment 17 overcommunications links 41. Local information service 15 may be, forexample, a local weather station that measures weather data, a localnewspaper that obtains local high school and college sportinginformation, or any other suitable provider of information. Localinformation service 15 may be a local business with a computer forproviding main facility 12 with, for example, local ski reports, fishingconditions, menus, etc., or any other suitable provider of information.Link 41 may be a satellite link, a telephone network link, a cable orfiber optic link, a microwave link, an Internet link, a combination ofsuch links, or any other suitable communications link. Additional datasources 14 may be located at other facilities for providing mainfacility 12 with non-localized data (e.g., non-localized program guidedata) over link 41.

The program guide data transmitted by main facility 12 to interactivetelevision program guide equipment 17 may include television programmingdata (e.g., program identifiers, times, channels, titles, descriptions,series identifiers, etc.) and other data for services other thantelevision program listings (e.g., help text, pay-per-view information,weather information, sports information, music channel information,associated Internet web links, associated software, etc.). There arepreferably numerous pieces or installations of interactive televisionprogram guide equipment 17, although only one is shown in FIG. 1 toavoid over-complicating the drawing.

Program guide data may be transmitted by main facility 12 to interactivetelevision program guide equipment 17 using any suitable approach. Datafiles may, for example, be encapsulated as objects and transmitted usinga suitable Internet based addressing scheme and protocol stack (e.g., astack which uses the user datagram protocol (UDP) and Internet protocol(IP)). Systems in which program guide data is transmitted from a mainfacility to television distribution facilities are described, forexample, in Gollahon et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/332,624,filed Jun. 11, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein inits entirety.

A client-server based interactive television program guide isimplemented on interactive television program guide equipment 17. Threeillustrative arrangements for interactive television program guideequipment 17 are shown in FIGS. 2 a-2 c. FIG. 2 a shows an illustrativearrangement for interactive television program guide equipment 17 inwhich a program guide server obtains program guide data directly frommain facility 12. FIG. 2 b shows an illustrative arrangement forinteractive television program guide equipment 17 in which a programguide server obtains program guide data from main facility 12 or someother facility (e.g., local information service 15) via the Internet. Ineither of these approaches, users may be provided with opportunities toaccess program guide data without having to navigate the Internet, ifdesired. As shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, interactive program guidetelevision equipment 17 may include television distribution facility 16and user television equipment 22.

Television distribution facility 16 may have program guide distributionequipment 21 and program guide server 25. Distribution equipment 21 isequipment suitable for providing program guide data from program guideserver 25 to user television equipment 22 over communications path 20.Distribution equipment 21 may include, for example, suitabletransmission hardware for distributing program guide data on atelevision channel sideband, in the vertical blanking interval of atelevision channel, using an in-band digital signal, using anout-of-band digital signal, over a dedicated computer network orInternet link, or by any other data transmission technique suitable forthe type of communications path 20. Analog or digital video signals(e.g., television programs) may also be distributed by distributionequipment 21 to user television equipment 22 over communications paths20 on multiple analog or digital television channels. Alternatively,videos may be distributed to user television equipment 22 from someother suitable distribution facility, such as a cable system headend, abroadcast distribution facility, a satellite television distributionfacility, or any other suitable type of television distributionfacility.

Communications paths 20 may be any communications paths suitable fordistributing program guide data. Communications paths 20 may include,for example, a satellite link, a telephone network link, a cable orfiber optic link, a microwave link, an Internet link, a data-over-cableservice interface specification (DOCSIS) link, a combination of suchlinks, or any other suitable communications link. Communications paths20 preferably have sufficient bandwidth to allow television distributionfacility 16 or another distribution facility to distribute televisionprogramming to user television equipment 22. There are typicallymultiple pieces of user television equipment 22 and multiple associatedcommunications paths 20, although only one piece of user televisionequipment 22 and communications path 20 are shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 bto avoid over-complicating the drawings. If desired, televisionprogramming and program guide data may be provided over separatecommunications paths.

Program guide server 25 may be based on any suitable combination ofserver software and hardware. Program guide server 25 may retrieveprogram guide data or video files from storage device 56 in response toprogram guide data or video requests generated by an interactivetelevision program guide client implemented on user television equipment22. As shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, program guide server 25 may includeprocessing circuitry 54 and storage device 56. Processing circuitry 54may include any suitable processor, such as a microprocessor or group ofmicroprocessors, and other processing circuitry such as cachingcircuitry, video decoding circuitry, direct memory access (DMA)circuitry, input/output (I/O) circuitry, etc.

Storage device 56 may be a memory or other storage device, such asrandom access memory (RAM), flash memory, a hard disk drive, etc., thatis suitable for storing the program guide data transmitted to televisiondistribution facility 16 by main facility 12. User data, such as userpreference profiles, preferences, parental control settings, record andreminder settings, viewing histories, and other suitable data may alsobe stored on storage device 56 by program guide server 25. Program guidedata and user data may be stored on storage device 56 in any suitableformat (e.g., a Structured Query Language (SQL) database). If desired,storage 56 may also store video files for playing back on demand.

Processing circuitry 54 may process requests for program guide data bysearching the program guide data stored on storage device 56 for therequested data, retrieving the data, and providing the retrieved data todistribution equipment 21 for distribution to user television equipment22. Processing circuitry 54 may also process storage requests generatedby the program guide client that direct program guide server 25 to storeuser data. Alternatively, program guide server 25 may distribute programguide data to and receive user data from user television equipment 22directly. If communications paths 20 include an Internet link, DOCSISlink, or other high speed computer network link (e.g., 10BaseT,100BaseT, 10BaseF, T1, T3, etc.), for example, processing circuitry 54may include circuitry suitable for transmitting program guide and userdata and receiving program guide data and storage requests over such alink.

Program guide server 25 may communicate with user television equipment22 using any suitable communications protocol. For example, programguide server 25 may use a communications protocol stack that includestransmission control protocol (TCP) and Internet protocol (IP) layers,sequenced packet exchange (SPX) and internetwork packet exchange (IPX)layers, Appletalk transaction protocol (ATP) and datagram deliveryprotocol (DDP) layers, DOCSIS, or any other suitable protocol orcombination of protocols. User television equipment 22 may also includesuitable hardware for communicating with program guide server 25 overcommunications paths 20 (e.g., Ethernet cards, modems (digital, analog,or cable), etc.)

The program guide client on user television equipment 22 may retrieveprogram guide data from and store user data on program guide server 25using any suitable client-server based approach. The program guide may,for example, pass SQL requests as messages to program guide server 25.In another suitable approach, the program guide may invoke remoteprocedures that reside on program guide server 25 using one or moreremote procedure calls. Program guide server 25 may execute SQLstatements for such invoked remote procedures. In still another suitableapproach, client objects executed by the program guide may communicatewith server objects executed by program guide server 25 using, forexample, an object request broker (ORB). This may involve using, forexample, Microsoft's Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) approach.As used herein, “record requests” and “storage requests” are intended toencompass any of these types of inter-process or inter-objectcommunications, or any other suitable type of inter-process orinter-object communication.

FIG. 2 b shows an illustrative arrangement for interactive televisionprogram guide equipment 17 in which program guide server 25 obtainsprogram guide data via the Internet. The program guide data obtained byprogram guide server 25 may be provided by main facility 12 or from someother source (e.g., local information service 15) and made available onthe Internet. Internet service system 61 may use any suitablecombination of hardware and software capable of providing program guidedata from the Internet to program guide server 25 using an Internetbased approach (e.g., using the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), FileTransfer Protocol (FTP), etc.). FIG. 2 b shows Internet service system61 as being encompassed by television distribution facility 16. Ifdesired, Internet service system 61 may be located at a facility that isseparate from television distribution facility 16. Internet servicesystem 61 may, for example, be located at main facility 12 or at someother Internet node suitable for providing program guide data from theInternet to program guide server 25. The functionality of Internetservice system 61 and program guide server 25 may be integrated into onesystem if desired.

Another suitable arrangement for interactive television program guideequipment 17 is shown in FIG. 2 c. Interactive television program guideequipment 17 may include, for example, television distribution facility16 having program guide server 25 and Internet service system 61. Aprogram guide client application may run on personal computer 23. Theclient may access program guide server 25 via Internet service system 61and communications path 20. Personal computer 23 may include processingcircuitry 27, memory 29, storage device 31, communications device 35,and monitor 39.

Processing circuitry 27 may include any suitable processor, such as amicroprocessor or group of microprocessors, and other processingcircuitry such as caching circuitry, direct memory access (DMA)circuitry, input/output (I/O) circuitry, etc. Processing circuitry 27may also include suitable circuitry for displaying televisionprogramming. Personal computer 23 may include, for example, a PC/TVcard. Memory 29 may be any suitable memory, such as random access memory(RAM) or read only memory (ROM), that is suitable for storing thecomputer instructions and data. Storage device 31 may be any suitablestorage device, such as a hard disk, floppy disk drive, flash RAM card,recordable CD-ROM drive, or any other suitable storage device.Communications device 35 may be any suitable communications device, suchas a conventional analog modem or cable modem.

An illustrative arrangement for user television equipment 22 of FIGS. 2a and 2 b is shown in FIG. 3. User television equipment 22 of FIG. 3receives analog video or a digital video stream and data, program guidedata, or any suitable combination thereof, from television distributionfacility 16 (FIG. 1) at input 26. During normal television viewing, auser tunes set-top box 28 to a desired television channel. The signalfor that television channel is then provided at video output 30. Thesignal supplied at output 30 is typically either a radio-frequency (RF)signal on a predefined channel (e.g., channel 3 or 4), or a analogdemodulated video signal, but may also be a digital signal provided totelevision 36 on an appropriate digital bus (e.g., a bus using theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 standard,(not shown)). The video signal at output 30 is received by optionalsecondary storage device 32.

The interactive television program guide client may run on set-top box28, on television 36 (if television 36 has suitable processing circuitryand memory), on a suitable analog or digital receiver connected totelevision 36, or on digital storage device 31 if digital storage device31 has suitable processing circuitry and memory. The interactivetelevision program guide client may also run cooperatively on a suitablecombination of these devices. Interactive television application systemsin which a cooperative interactive television program guide applicationruns on multiple devices are described, for example, in Ellis U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/186,598, filed Nov. 5, 1998, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Secondary storage device 32 can be any suitable type of analog ordigital program storage device or player (e.g., a videocassetterecorder, a digital versatile disc (DVD) player, etc.). Programrecording and other features may be controlled by set-top box 28 usingcontrol path 34. If secondary storage device 32 is a videocassetterecorder, for example, a typical control path 34 involves the use of aninfrared transmitter coupled to the infrared receiver in thevideocassette recorder that normally accepts commands from a remotecontrol such as remote control 40. Remote control 40 may be used tocontrol set-top box 28, secondary storage device 32, and television 36.

If desired, a user may record programs, program guide data, or acombination thereof in digital form on optional digital storage device31. Digital storage device 31 may be a writeable optical storage device(such as a DVD player capable of handling recordable DVD discs), amagnetic storage device (such as a disk drive or digital tape), or anyother digital storage device. Interactive television program guidesystems that have digital storage devices are described, for example, inHassell et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/157,256, filed Sep.17, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

Digital storage device 31 can be contained in set-top box 28 or it canbe an external device connected to set-top box 28 via an output port andappropriate interface. Digital storage device 31 may, for example, becontained in local media server 29. If necessary, processing circuitryin set-top box 28 formats the received video, audio and data signalsinto a digital file format. Preferably, the file format is an open fileformat such as the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) MPEG-2 standardor the Moving Joint Photographic Experts Group (MJPEG) standard. Theresulting data is streamed to digital storage device 31 via anappropriate bus (e.g., a bus using the Institute Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 standard), and is stored on digitalstorage device 31. In another suitable approach, an MPEG-2 data streamor series of files may be received from distribution equipment 21 andstored.

Television 36 receives video signals from secondary storage device 32via communications path 38. The video signals on communications path 38may either be generated by secondary storage device 32 when playing backa prerecorded storage medium (e.g., a videocassette or a recordabledigital video disc), by digital storage device 31 when playing back apre-recorded digital medium, may be passed through from set-top box 28,may be provided directly to television 36 from set-top box 28 ifsecondary storage device 32 is not included in user television equipment22, or may be received directly by television 36. During normaltelevision viewing, the video signals provided to television 36correspond to the desired channel to which a user has tuned with set-topbox 28. Video signals may also be provided to television 36 by set-topbox 28 when set-top box 28 is used to play back information stored ondigital storage device 31.

Set-top box 28 may have communications device 37 for communicating withprogram guide server 25 over communications path 20. Communicationsdevice 37 may be a modem (e.g., any suitable analog or digital standard,cellular, or cable modem), network interface card (e.g., an Ethernetcard, Token ring card, etc.), a combination of such devices, or anyother suitable communications device. Television 36 may also have such asuitable communications device if desired.

Set-top box 28 may have memory 44. Memory 44 may be any memory or otherstorage device, such as a random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), flash memory, a hard disk drive, a combination of such devices,etc., that is suitable for storing program guide client instructions andprogram guide data for use by the program guide client.

A more generalized embodiment of user television equipment 22 of FIG. 3is shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, program guide data fromtelevision distribution facility 16 (FIG. 1) and programming arereceived by control circuitry 42 of user television equipment 22. Thefunctions of control circuitry 42 may be provided using the set-top boxarrangement of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b. Alternatively, these functions may beintegrated into an advanced television receiver, personal computertelevision (PC/TV) such as shown in FIG. 2 c, or any other suitablearrangement. If desired, a combination of such arrangements may be used.

User television equipment 22 may also have secondary storage device 47and digital storage device 49 for recording programming. Secondarystorage device 47 can be any suitable type of analog or digital programstorage device (e.g., a videocassette recorder, a digital versatile disc(DVD), etc.). Program recording and other features may be controlled bycontrol circuitry 42. Digital storage device 49 may be, for example, awriteable optical storage device (such as a DVD player capable ofhandling recordable DVD discs), a magnetic storage device (such as adisk drive or digital tape), or any other digital storage device.

User television equipment 22 may also have memory 63. Memory 63 may beany memory or other storage device, such as a random access memory(RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, a hard disk drive, acombination of such devices, etc., that is suitable for storing programguide client instructions and program guide data for use by controlcircuitry 42.

User television equipment 22 of FIG. 4 may also have communicationsdevice 51 for supporting communications between the program guide clientand program guide server 25 and via communications path 20.Communications device 51 may be a modem (e.g., any suitable analog ordigital standard, cellular, or cable modem), network interface card(e.g., an Ethernet card, Token ring card, etc.), a combination of suchdevices, or any other suitable communications device.

A user controls the operation of user television equipment 22 with userinterface 46. User interface 46 may be a pointing device, wirelessremote control, keyboard, touch-pad, voice recognition system, or anyother suitable user input device. To watch television, a user instructscontrol circuitry 42 to display a desired television channel on displaydevice 45. To access the functions of the program guide, a userinstructs the program guide implemented on interactive televisionprogram guide equipment 17 to generate a main menu or other desiredprogram guide display screen for display on display device 45. Ifdesired, the program guide client running on user television equipment22 may provide users with access to program guide features withoutrequiring them to navigate the Internet.

The program guide may provide users with an opportunity to accessprogram guide features through a main menu. A main menu screen, such asillustrative main menu screen 100 of FIG. 5, may include menu 102 ofselectable program guide features 106. If desired, program guidefeatures 106 may be organized according to feature type. In menu 102,for example, program guide features 106 have been organized into threecolumns. The column labeled “TV GUIDE” is for listings related features,the column labeled “MSO SHOWCASE” is for multiple system operator (MSO)related features, and the column labeled “VIEWER SERVICES” is for viewerrelated features. The interactive television program guide may generatea display screen for a particular program guide feature when a userselects that feature from menu 102.

Main menu screen 100 may include one or more selectable advertisements108. Selectable advertisements 108 may, for example, include text andgraphics advertising pay-per-view programs or other programs orproducts. When a user selects a selectable advertisement 108, theprogram guide may display information (e.g., pay-per-view information)or take other actions related to the content of the advertisement. Puretext advertisements may be presented, if desired, as illustrated byselectable advertisement banner 110.

Main menu screen 100 may also include other screen elements. The brandof the program guide product may be indicated, for example, using aproduct brand logo graphic such as product brand logo graphic 112. Theidentity of the television service provider may be presented, forexample, using a service provider logo graphic such as service providerlogo graphic 114. The current time may be displayed in clock displayregion 116. In addition, a suitable indicator such as indicator graphic118 may be used to indicate to a user that mail from a cable operator iswaiting for a user if the program guide supports messaging functions.

The interactive television program guide may provide a user with anopportunity to view television program listings. A user may indicate adesire to view program listings by, for example, positioning highlightregion 120 over a desired program guide feature 106. Alternatively, theprogram guide may present program listings when a user presses asuitable key (e.g., a “guide” key) on remote control 40. When a userindicates a desire to view television program listings, the programguide client requests listings from program guide server 25 andgenerates an appropriate program listings screen for display on displaydevice 45 (FIG. 4). Program listings screens may be overlaid on aprogram being viewed by a user or overlaid on a portion of the programin a “browse” mode. Program listings screens are described, for example,in Knudson et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/357,941, filedJul. 16, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

A program listings screen may contain one or more groups or lists ofprogram listings organized according to one or more organizationcriteria (e.g., by time, by channel, by program category, etc.). Theprogram guide may, for example, provide a user with an opportunity toview listings by time, by channel, according to a number of categories(e.g., movies, sports, children, etc.), or may allow a user to searchfor a listing by title. Program listings may be displayed using anysuitable list, table, grid, or other suitable display arrangement. Ifdesired, program listings screens may include selectable advertisements,product brand logo graphics, service provider brand graphics, clocks, orany other suitable indicator or graphic.

A user may indicate a desire to view program listings by time, channel,or category by, for example, selecting a selectable feature 106 frommenu 102. In response, the program guide client may issue one or morerequests to program guide server 25 for listings in the selectedcategory if such listings are not already cached in memory 63 (FIG. 4).Program guide server 25 may retrieve program guide data stored onstorage device 56, on another server, or from Internet service system61, and provide the data to the program guide client via program guidedistribution equipment 21.

The program guide client may display program listings in a suitableprogram listings screen on user television equipment 22. FIG. 6illustrates the display of program listings by time. Program listingsscreen 130 of FIG. 6 may include highlight region 151, which highlightsthe current program listing 150. A user may position highlight region151 by entering appropriate commands with user interface 46. Forexample, if user interface 46 has a keypad, a user can positionhighlight region 151 using “up” and “down” arrow keys on remote control40. A user may select a listing by, for example, pressing on the “OK” or“info” key on remote control 40. Alternatively, a touch sensitivescreen, trackball, voice recognition device, or other suitable devicemay be used to move highlight region 151 or to select program listingswithout the use of highlight region 151. In still another approach, auser may speak a television program listing into a voice requestrecognition system. These methods of selecting program listings aremerely illustrative. Any other suitable approach for selecting programlistings may be used if desired.

A user may view additional listings for the time slot indicated intimebar 111 by, for example, pressing an “up” or “down” arrow, or a“page up” or “page down” key on remote control 40. The user may also seelistings for the next 24 hour period, or the last 24 hour period, bypressing a “day forward” or “day backward” key on remote control 40,respectively. If there are no listings starting exactly 24 hours in theindicated direction, the program guide may pick programs starting ateither closer or further than 24 hours away. If desired, the programguide may require a user to scroll through advertisement banner 110. Auser may view program listings for other time slots by, for example,pressing “right” and “left” arrows on remote control 40.

FIG. 7 illustrates the display of program listings by channel. A usermay scroll up and down to view program listings for additional timeslots, and may scroll left and right to view program listings for otherchannels. If desired, the day for which program listings are displayedmay be included in display area 147 with the channel number as shown.

The program guide may provide users with an opportunity to view programlistings sorted by category. A user may, for example, press a specialcategory key on remote control 40 (e.g., “movies”, “sports”, “children”,etc.), select a selectable category feature from main menu screen 100(FIG. 5), or may indicate a desire to view program listings by categoryusing any other suitable approach. FIG. 8 a is an illustrative programlistings screen in which program listings for movies are displayed. FIG.8 b is an illustrative program listings screen in which program listingsfor sports-related programming are displayed. FIG. 8 c is anillustrative program listings screen in which program listings forchildren's programs are displayed.

In program listings display screens such as those shown in FIGS. 7 a and8 a-8 c for example, program listings within lists 129 may be dividedinto predefined time slots, such as into 30 minute time slots. Betweeneach time slot, separator 128 may be displayed to indicate to a userthat a user has scrolled or paged program listings from one time slot tothe next. In FIG. 7 for example, a user is scrolling from programlistings in the 11:30 PM to the 12:00 AM time slot. This is indicated bythe display of the name of the next week day. In FIGS. 8 a-8 c, forexample, a user is scrolling from program listings in the 12:30 PM timeslot to program listings in the 1:00 PM time slot. If desired,separators 128 may be displayed only for those timeslots for which thereare listings. When the user scrolls within listings, highlight region151 may skip separator 128. FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 a-8 c also illustrate howthe program guide may display an advertisement banner so that a user isrequired to scroll past the banner to access additional programlistings.

The program listings screens of FIGS. 6, 7, 8 a, 8 b, and 8 c have alsobeen shown as including various other screen elements. Program listingsdisplay screens may include, for example, selectable advertisements,advertisement banners, brand logos, service provider logos, clocks,message indicators, or any other suitable screen element. The programguide may provide users with access to selectable advertisements inresponse to, for example, a user pressing left arrows to move highlightregion 151 to highlight a selectable advertisement. In the illustrativeprogram listings screens of FIGS. 6, 8 a, 8 b, and 8 c, the programguide may also adjust the time displayed in timebar 123 as the userscrolls or pages through program listings to reflect the time of theprogram listing at the top of the list.

The program guide client may provide a user with an opportunity todefine sophisticated boolean or natural language expressions of one ormore criteria. Such criteria may include, for example, attribute typeand attribute information that is provided by program guide server 25.The user defined expressions may be stored by program guide server 25for searching through and sorting program guide data, schedulingreminders, automatically recording programs, and parentally controllingprograms. Criteria may also be derived by the program guide server orprogram guide client from user profiles or by monitoring usage of theprogram guide or advertising. Program guide server 25 may also useexpressions to obtain other types of information or programs. Programguide server 25 may obtain, for example, video-on-demand programs, website links, games, chat group links, merchandise information, or anyother suitable information or programming from data sources 14 locatedat main facility 12 or other facilities. The program guide client mayprovide users with an opportunity to access, modify, or delete theexpressions if desired.

A user may indicate a desire to search program guide data by, forexample, selecting selectable Search feature 106 of main menu 102 (FIG.5). In response, the program guide client may display a criteria screen,such as illustrative criteria screen 141 and 149 of FIGS. 9 a and 9 b.The program guide client may display criteria screen 141 of FIG. 9 a toprovide a user with an opportunity to define a boolean expression. Theuser may construct a boolean expression by selecting criteria such asattribute types, attributes, logical operators, and sorting criteria.User selectable criteria may also include what program guide server 25searches for such as, for example, program listings, programinformation, web sites, video-on-demand videos, software, or any othersuitable program guide data, other information, or videos.

Users may define expressions by, for example, arrowing up or downbetween criteria, arrowing left or right to choose an attribute,attribute type or logical operator, and pressing a suitable key toindicate that the user is finished (e.g., an “OK” key). In the exampleof FIG. 9 a, the user has constructed a boolean expression for allaction programs that have the actor Bruce Willis, that start between7:00 P and 11:00 P, and that end between 9:00 P and 1:30 A on thecurrent day. FIG. 9 a has not been shown as including criteria forselecting what program guide server 25 searches for to avoidover-complicating the drawing.

The program guide client may display criteria screen 149 of FIG. 9 b toprovide a user with an opportunity to construct a natural languageexpression. The user may enter a natural language phrase, such as “Listin alphabetical order all action programs starring Bruce Willis and thatstart today between 7:00 P and 11:00 P and that end between 9:00 P and1:30 A” using user interface 46 (FIG. 4).

The program guide client may submit the user defined boolean expressionor the natural language expression to program guide server 25 forprocessing. Program guide server 25 may process the expression, andprovide the resulting program guide data (e.g., program listings,program information, software, Internet links, etc.) or video programsto the program guide client for display. FIG. 11 shows an illustrativeprogram listings screen that may be displayed by the program guideclient in response to the expressions defined in FIGS. 9 a and 9 b.

Users may also indicate a desire to have program guide server 25automatically process expressions by, for example, saving definedexpressions as agents. A user may indicate a desire to save anexpression as an agent by, for example, selecting Save As Agentselectable feature 147 of FIGS. 9 a and 9 b after defining a boolean ornatural language expression. The program guide client may automaticallyhighlight Save As Agent selectable feature 147 when a user indicatesthat the user is finished defining an expression (e.g., by pressing an“OK” key). If desired the program guide client may provide the user withan opportunity to name the agent.

Users may access saved expressions or agents by, for example, selectingselectable Agent feature 106 of main menu 102. In response, the programguide client may display a list of saved expressions or agents. Anillustrative agents screen 1101 is shown in FIG. 10. A user may indicatea desire to view program listings by, for example, positioning highlightregion 151 over the desired expression and pressing an “OK” key onremote control 40. In response to a user indicating a desire to accessan expression, the program guide client may submit the user definedexpression to program guide server 25 for processing. Program guideserver may process the expression, and provide program listings to theprogram guide client for display in a program listings screen. Forexample, if a user saved the boolean expression of FIG. 9 a, named it“Bruce Willis”, and then indicated a desire to access listings for theexpression the program guide client may display the listings screen ofFIG. 10.

In still another approach, the program guide client may provide theexpression to program guide server 25 in response to the user saving theexpression as an agent. Program guide server 25 may store the expressionand monitor the data stored on storage device 56 for program guidelistings, program information, other information, software, videos,etc., that match the expression. Program guide server 25 may also queryother sources for program guide data and videos that match theexpression via, for example, the Internet. Program guide server 25 mayobtain the program guide data, other information or videos from storagedevice 56 or other sources and provide them to the program guide clientwhen the user indicates a desire to access the agent. Alternatively,program guide server 25 may provide the program guide data, otherinformation, or videos to the program guide client automatically whenthe user accesses a feature of the program guide that would display suchinformation. In still another suitable approach, program guide server 25may provide, for example, program identifiers and air times to theprogram guide client for use in generating program reminders thatindicate found programs.

The program guide may also provide users with an opportunity to defineuser preferences that allow users to customize their program guideexperience. Systems in which interactive television program guidesprovide users with opportunities to define user preference profiles aredescribed, for example, in Ellis et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/034,934, filed Mar. 4, 1998, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety. Users may indicate a desire to set upuser preference profiles, for example, by selecting a selectable Setupfeature 106 from main menu 102 of FIG. 5. When a user selects aselectable Setup feature 106 from main menu 102, the program guideclient may display a setup screen, such as illustrative setup screen 411of FIG. 12.

Setup screen 411 may provide a user with an opportunity to set upvarious guide features, set parental control features, set features ofset-top box 28 (FIG. 3), set audio features, set the screen position,set user preference profiles, or to set up any other feature or suitablecombination of features. The user may indicate a desire to set up a userpreference profile by, for example, selecting User Profile feature 417.When the user indicates a desire to set up a user preference profile,the program guide client may display a user preference profile setupscreen, such as the preference profile setup screens shown in FIGS. 13a-13 f. This method of defining user profiles is only illustrative, asany suitable method may be used.

In practice, there may be multiple users associated with each usertelevision equipment 22. The program guide may provide users with theability to set up multiple user preference profiles. Users may switchbetween user preference profiles by, for example, selecting preferenceprofile selector 109 and arrowing right or left to select the desireduser preference profile. In FIGS. 13 a-13 f, for example, the user hasselected Preference profile #1, which may correspond to a particularuser.

User preference profiles may include criteria such as preferenceattributes 104 and preference levels 106. Preference attributes 104 maybe organized by type. Attribute types and attributes may be programmedinto the program guide client, or may be retrieved by the program guideclient from program guide server 25. In the former approach, theavailable attribute types and attributes may remain static until theprogram guide client is updated. In the latter approach, the availableattribute types and attributes may be dynamic. Suitable attribute typesand attributes may be provided at any time by main facility 12 ortelevision distribution facility 16. Each time a user indicates a desireto set up a user preference profile, the program guide client may queryprogram guide server 25 for the available attribute types andattributes. When a user indicates a desire to set up a user preferenceprofile in either approach, the program guide client may query programguide server 25 for the user preference profiles associated with thatprogram guide client.

FIGS. 13 a-13 f show six illustrative views of preference profile setupscreens in which the user has selected attribute types by, for example,selecting attribute selector 111 and arrowing right or left until adesired preference attribute type is displayed. For example, FIGS. 13a-13 f illustrate how the program guide may provide a user with anopportunity to set preference levels for series, genres, channels,actors and actresses, ratings, and other types of preference attributes,respectively. The user may select preference attributes by, for example,arrowing down after selecting an attribute type. The user may then arrowright or left until a desired attribute is displayed. After the desiredpreference attribute is displayed, the user may, for example, arrow downto set a preference level for the attribute. The user may then, forexample, arrow right or left to select a suitable preference level.

Preference levels that may be used to indicate the user's interest ordisinterest in a given preference attribute include strong like, weaklike, strong dislike, weak dislike, mandatory (appropriate, e.g., forclosed-captioning for a deaf person), illegal (appropriate, e.g., forR-rated programs for a child) and don't care (neutral). After the userindicates that he or she is finished defining a profile (e.g., bypressing an “OK” key or remote control 40), the program guide client mayprovide the preference profile data to program guide server 25 for usein providing program guide data. The user may arrow down again to selectadditional criteria, or arrow up to edit criteria that has already beenselected. The user may delete an attribute by, for example, setting itspreference level to “don't care.”

The user may activate or deactivate one or more defined preferenceprofiles by, for example, selecting selectable Profile feature 106 frommain menu 102 of FIG. 5. The program guide client may respond by, forexample, querying program guide server 25 for any defined preferenceprofiles, providing the user with a list of preference profiles, andproviding the user with an opportunity to activate or deactivate one ormore preference profiles as shown in FIG. 14. A user may deactivate apreference profile by, for example, setting the profile to non-active. Auser may set a preference profile as active to varying degrees. Forexample, a user may set a profile as active by setting the profile to“wide”, “moderate”, or “narrow” scope.

The program guide client may also indicate to program guide server 25which profiles are activated or deactivated. The program guide servermay use, for example, the attributes of one or more user preferenceprofiles as additional criteria when retrieving data in response to datarequests from the program guide client. If multiple preference profilesare used simultaneously, program guide server 25 may reconcile anyconflicts using any suitable approach. Interactive television programguide systems that resolve conflicts among multiple active userpreference profiles are described, for example, in above-mentioned Elliset al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/034,934, filed Mar. 4, 1998.

FIG. 15 is a table containing an illustrative list of programs thatmight be available to a user. The results that appear under the columnslabeled “narrow scope”, “moderate scope”, and “wide scope”, show whichprograms satisfy the preference attributes and preference levels of, forexample, Profile #1 as illustratively defined in FIGS. 13 a-13 f. Inpractice, a listings screen generated based on a profile that is set towidest scope may typically include a larger number of program listingsdepending on the mandatory attributes set by the user.

When the user activates Profile #1 and sets it to the widest scope,program guide server 25 may provide program guide data for programs thathave all mandatory attributes and no illegal attributes. For example,Seinfeld, The Shining, ER, Terminator, and My Stepmother is an Alien areincluded in the widest preference scope because they have the onlymandatory attribute that is specified in Profile #1—closed-captioning(as set in FIG. 13 f). In addition, they have no preference attributeswith a preference level of illegal (R rating, TV-MA rating, or NC-17rating (as set in FIG. 13 e). The Night at the Opera is not includedbecause it does not have a mandatory attribute (closed-captioning).Dante's Peak is not included because it has a illegal rating (R). Anillustrative program listings screen that may be displayed by theprogram guide client with such limited data is shown in FIG. 16 a (ERhas not been listed because, presumably, it would be in a different timeblock).

When the user activates Profile #1 and sets it to the moderate scope,program guide server 25 may provide program guide data for programs thathave no preference attributes with an associated preference level ofdisliked, that have all mandatory attributes, and that have no illegalattributes. The Shining is not included because horrors have apreference level of “weak dislike” (as set in FIG. 13 b). Dante's Peakis not included because it has an R-rating, which has an attribute levelof illegal (as set in FIG. 13 e). Night at the Opera is not includedbecause it is not closed-captioned, which is a mandatory attribute (asset in FIG. 13 f). The Terminator, for example is not within themoderate scope of Profile #1 because the preference attribute of horrorin Profile #1 has an associated preference level of “weak dislike” andthe preference attribute of Schwarzenegger (an actor in the programTerminator) has an associated preference level of “strong dislike” (asset in FIGS. 13 b and 13 d, respectively). Seinfeld and ER are includedbecause they do not have any disliked attributes.

When faced with two different preference levels associated with the sameprogram, the program guide uses the stronger of the two. My Stepmotheris an Alien is included, for example, because it has a “strong like”preference attribute that outweighs the “weak dislike”. An illustrativeprogram listings screen that may be displayed by the program guideclient with such limited program guide data is shown in FIG. 16 b. Inpractice, a listings screen generated based on a profile that is set tomoderate scope may typically include a larger number of program listingsdepending on the mandatory attributes set by the user.

When the user activates Profile #1 and sets it to the narrow preferencescope, program guide server 25 may provide program guide data for allliked programs that are not more disliked and that have all mandatoryattributes and no illegal attributes. The Shining is not includedbecause it has a weakly disliked attribute, horror. Terminator is notincluded because it has a strongly disliked attribute, ArnoldSchwarzenegger. My Stepmother is an Alien is included because thestrongly liked attribute of comedy has priority over the weakly dislikedattribute of horror. Dante's Peak is not included because it has arating of R. Night at the Opera is not included because it is notclosed-captioned. ER is not within the narrow scope because it does nothave any liked attributes. It is at best, neutral. An illustrativeprogram listings screen that may be displayed by the program guideclient with such limited program guide data is shown in FIG. 16 c.

The program guide may also provide users with an opportunity to schedulereminders using boolean or natural language expressions having one ormore criteria. If desired, program guide server 25 may schedulereminders based on user preference profiles and agents. Reminders may bescheduled for individual programs or series of programs. Systems inwhich reminders are set for series of programs are described, forexample, in Knudson et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/330,792,filed Jun. 11, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein inits entirety.

A user may indicate a desire to schedule a reminder by, for example,selecting a selectable Reminders feature 106 from main menu 100 of FIG.5. In response, the program guide may display a criteria screen.Illustrative criteria screens 161 and 169 are shown in FIGS. 17 a and 17b. The program guide client may display criteria screen 161 of FIG. 17 ato provide a user with an opportunity to set reminders according to aboolean type expression. The user may construct a boolean expression byselecting criteria such as attribute types, attributes, and logicaloperators. The user may make such selections, for example, using anysuitable combination of right, left, up, or down arrow key sequences tosequence through the attribute types, attributes and logical operators.In the example of FIG. 17 a, the user has defined a boolean expressionto schedule reminders for comedies that star Gary Shandling and thathave a rating less than R. In the example of FIG. 17 b, the user hasdefined a similar natural language expression.

The program guide client may submit the user defined boolean or naturallanguage expression to program guide server 25 for processing. Programguide server 25 may process the expression and schedule reminders forall of the programs that meet the expression. Program reminders may bescheduled using any suitable approach. In one suitable approach, programguide server 25 may store program identifiers and air times and sendmessages to the program guide client at an appropriate time before aprogram starts. In another suitable approach, program guide server 25may process an expression and provide program identifiers and air timesto the program guide client. The program guide client may, for example,maintain a list of program identifiers and display program reminders atan appropriate time before the programs start.

The program guide may remind a user that a program is airing at the timea program airs. In an alternative approach, the program guide may reminda user at some predetermined period of time before the program airs thata program is going to air. FIGS. 18 and 19 show illustrative programreminder lists 171. In FIG. 18, reminder list 171 is overlaid on top ofthe currently display television program to provide a user with theopportunity to view a reminder while still viewing a portion of thetelevision program that a user is watching. In FIG. 19, reminder list171 is shown overlaid on top of a program listings display screen. Theprogram guide may provide a user with an opportunity to scroll throughreminder list 171 by, for example, using remote control arrow keys. Theprogram guide may hide the reminder list when, for example, a userselects hide reminder feature 172. The guide may also display reminderlist 171 if, for example, the user presses an “OK” key at any time whilewatching TV.

The program guide may also provide users with an opportunity to scheduleprograms for recording by secondary storage device 47 or digital storagedevice 49 (FIG. 4) using boolean or natural language expressions. Ifdesired, program guide server 25 may schedule programs for recordingbased on user preference profiles or agents. Programs may also bescheduled for recording by program guide server 25. Program guidesystems in which programs are recorded by a remote server are described,for example, in Ellis et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/332,244, filed Jun. 11, 1999, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

A user may indicate a desire to schedule a program for recording by, forexample, selecting a selectable Record feature 106 from main menu 102 ofFIG. 5. In response, the program guide may display a criteria screen,such as illustrative criteria screens 161 and 169 of FIGS. 17 a and 17b. The program guide client may display criteria screen 161 of FIG. 17 ato provide a user with an opportunity to schedule a program forrecording according to a boolean type expression. The user may constructa boolean expression by selecting criteria such as attribute types,attributes, and logical operators. The user may make such selections,for example, using any suitable combination of right, left, up, or downarrow key sequences to sequence through the attribute types, attributesand logical operators. In the example of FIG. 17 a, the user has defineda boolean expression to schedule for recording comedies that star GaryShandling and that have a rating less than R. In the example of FIG. 17b, the user has defined a similar natural language expression withsimilar criteria.

The program guide client may submit the user defined boolean or naturallanguage expression to program guide server 25 for processing. Programguide server 25 may process the expression and schedule all of theprograms that meet the expression for recording. Recording by programguide server 25 may be performed, for example, as described inabove-mentioned Ellis et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/332,244, filed Jun. 11, 1999. In another suitable approach, programguide server 25 may process the expression and provide programidentifiers and air times to the program guide client. The program guideclient may, for example, maintain a list of program identifiers andprogram air times and may instruct optional secondary storage device 47or digital storage device 49 to record the programs.

The program guide may also provide users with an opportunity toparentally control titles, programs, or channels using boolean ornatural language expressions. If desired, program guide server 25 mayparentally control programs based on user preference profiles. A usermay indicate a desire to parentally control titles, programs, orchannels by, for example, selecting a selectable Parents feature 106from main menu 102 of FIG. 5. In response, the program guide may displaya criteria screen, such as illustrative criteria screens 161 and 169 ofFIGS. 17 a and 17 b. The program guide client may display criteriascreen 161 of FIG. 17 a to provide a user with an opportunity to controlprograms, for example, according to a boolean type expression. The usermay construct a boolean type expression by selecting criteria such asattribute types, attributes, and logical operators. The user may makesuch selections, for example, using any suitable combination of right,left, up, or down arrow key sequences to sequence through the attributetypes, attributes and logical operators. In the example of FIG. 17 a,the user has defined a boolean expression to lock out comedies that starGary Shandling and that have a rating less than R. In the example ofFIG. 17 b, the user has defined a similar natural language expressionwith similar criteria.

The program guide client may submit the user defined boolean or naturallanguage expression to program guide server 25 for processing. Programguide server 25 may process the expression, determine all of theprograms that meet the expression, and indicate the programs that arelocked to the program guide client when providing program listings tothe program guide client using a suitable indicator (e.g., “locked” tagcontained in the listings information). The program guide client may,for example, indicate that a program is locked by displaying lockindicator 161 when displaying locked listings in a listing screen, asshown, for example, in FIG. 7. By placing the processing and storageburdens of locking programs on program guide server 25 instead of usertelevision equipment 22, more titles may be locked than would otherwisebecause of the limited processing and storage resources of usertelevision equipment 22. If desired, titles, programs, or channels mayalso be locked using conventional parental control techniques. Programguide systems that provide users with an opportunity to parentallycontrol titles, programs, or channels are described, for example, inabove-mentioned Knudson et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/357,941 filed Jul. 16, 1999.

Program guide server 25 may also record the viewing histories of userson storage device 56. Viewing histories may be created using anysuitable approach. The program guide client may, for example, keep trackof all of the programs that a user watches for longer than a predefinedtime, and record the household that the guide client is running in, thecurrent active preference profile or profiles, the program (or itsidentifier), and how long the user watched the program. The programguide client may also track when users order pay-per-view programs,record programs, and schedule reminders for programs, and may alsoprovide this information to program guide server 25 as part of theviewing histories. Other types of information may also be included inthe viewing histories. User defined expressions, for example, may bestored by program guide server 25 to track what types of programs userssearch for. In addition, user demographic values may be calculated byprogram guide server 25 and used to more accurately targetadvertisements or recommend programs. Systems in which user demographicvalues are calculated are described, for example, in Knudson et al. U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/139,777, filed Aug. 25, 1998, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The program guide client may provide the viewing history information toprogram guide server 25 continuously (e.g., each time the program guideclient determines that a user has watched a program for the predefinedtime), periodically, in response to polls or requests from program guideserver 25, or with any other suitable frequency. If desired, the programguide client may also monitor advertisement usage, such as whatselectable advertisements users have selected. Program guide systems inwhich user viewing activities and advertisement usage are tracked aredescribed, for example, in Thomas et al. U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/139,798, filed Aug. 25, 1998, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

The program guide may process user profiles along with the viewerhistories to present a more customized viewing experience to the user.The program guide may, for example, identify which programs or seriesepisodes users have watched. Program guide server 25 may, for example,identify episodes that users have not yet watched and may indicate suchepisodes to the program guide client when the program guide clientrequests program listings. The program guide client in turn may indicatethat a program is new to a household by, for example, displaying asuitable icon or changing the display characteristics of a listing(e.g., changing its color). FIG. 7 shows, for example, the display ofNew indicator 159 in list 129 to indicate to a user that the user hasnot seen a particular episode of Saturday Night Live. Program guideserver 25 may also calculate ratings, such as Nielsen ratings, based onthe viewing histories and provide such information to interestedparties.

The program guide may also use the viewing history and user preferencesto target the user with advertisements. Program guide systems in whichusers are targeted with advertisements are described, for example, inKnudson et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/034,939, filed Mar.4, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety. Targeted advertisements may contain text, graphics, or video.Targeted advertisements may also be active objects containing varioususer-selectable options. For example, a targeted advertisement may allowthe user to request that additional information on a product be mailedto the user's home, may allow the user to purchase a product, or mayallow the user to view additional information on a product using theprogram guide. Targeted advertisements may be displayed in any suitableprogram guide display screen. The program guide client may, for example,display targeted advertisements in criteria or profile screens based ona displayed criteria, profile, or agent. Selectable advertisements 108and advertisement banner 110, for example, may be targetedadvertisements.

The program guide may make personalized viewing recommendations based onthe viewing histories, preference profiles, or any suitable combinationthereof. Program guide server 25 may, for example, construct relationaldatabase expressions from the viewing histories that define expressionsfor the program categories and ratings for programs that users havewatched, scheduled reminders for, searched for, or ordered the most.Program guide server 25 may then apply user preference profile criteriato the programs, and generate personal viewing recommendations. In stillanother suitable approach, program guide server 25 or the program guideclient may filter viewing recommendations that are generated by mainfacility 12 or television distribution facility 16 based on similarexpressions, profiles, viewing histories, etc.

Assume, for the purpose of illustration, that a user has run theexpression illustrated in FIGS. 9 a and 9 b, and has set the userprofiles of FIGS. 13 a-13 f, program guide server 25 may determine thatthe movie Armageddon meets the criteria of the expression that was run,and also meets the criteria of the current user profile. Armageddon is amovie (strong like), an action (strong like), and does not have anillegal rating (it is rated PG-13). Program guide server 25 may indicatethe movie Armageddon (or its identifier) and its air time to the programguide client and indicate to the client (e.g., using a secondidentifier) that a viewer recommendation for the movie is to bedisplayed. The program guide client may display a viewer recommendationoverlay, such as overlay 2111 shown in FIGS. 20 a and 20 b, over aprogram the user is watching or over a program guide display screen,respectively. The user may press a suitable key on remote control 40(e.g., an “info” key) to access additional information for a recommendedprogram. An illustrative additional information screen is shown in FIG.20 c. Additional program information screens are described, for example,in above-mentioned Knudson et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/357,941 filed Jul. 16, 1999. The program guide client may tune usertelevision equipment 22 to the channel on which a recommended viewing isaired when, for example, a user selects “Yes”. If desired,recommendations may include a suitable graphic, such as a graphicindicating the recommended program.

FIGS. 21-24 show flowcharts of illustrative steps involved in performingvarious aspects of the present invention. The steps shown in FIGS. 21-24are only illustrative, and may be performed in any suitable order.

FIG. 21 shows a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in storingpreference profiles on program guide server 25. If desired, the stepsshown may be performed in a client-server interactive program guidesystem in which users are not required to navigate the Internet. At step2000, the program guide client running on user television equipment 22provides a user with an opportunity to define a preference profile. Thepreference profile may include user selected or defined levels ofdesirability of various program characteristics, such as genre andrating. Users may define preference profiles by, for example, selectinga profile (step 2002) and selecting criteria (step 2004) such asattribute types (step 2006) and attributes (step 2008). Preferenceprofiles may, for example, be created as database files (e.g., SQLfiles) containing suitable database expressions that are provided toprogram guide server 25. Program guide server 25 may store thepreference profiles at step 2012.

Program guide data is provided from program guide server 25 to theprogram guide client and is displayed by the program guide client atsteps 2020 and 2030, respectively. Program guide server 25 or theprogram guide client may use preference profiles to filter outundesirable program guide data. This may be accomplished using anysuitable approach. Program guide server 25 may, for example, onlyprovide program listings information or other program guide data thatmeets the preference profile or profiles to the program guide client(step 2025). Alternatively, program guide server 25 may provide programguide data, other information, or videos to the program guide client andthe program guide client may filter the data, other information, orvideos by displaying only those elements that meet the preferenceprofile or profiles (step 2035).

Program guide server 25 may perform additional functions based onpreference profiles if desired. Program guide server 25 may, forexample, lock programs according to preference profiles (step 2040),automatically record programs according to preference profiles (step2050), schedule reminders based on preference profiles (step 2060), ortarget advertising based on preference profiles (step 2070). If desired,program guide server 25 may also provide viewing recommendations basedon preference profiles at step 2080. Step 2080 may also includefiltering viewing recommendations based on preference profiles providedby main facility 12 or television distribution facility 16 (step 2085).

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in providing userswith an opportunity to search program guide data in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention. If desired, the steps shown may beperformed in a client-server interactive program guide system in whichusers are not required to navigate the Internet. At step 2100, theprogram guide client provides a user with an opportunity to define anexpression, such as a boolean or natural language expression. This mayinclude, for example, providing a user with an opportunity to selectattribute types, attributes, and logical operators (steps 2102, 2104,and 2106, respectively). The user may also be provided with anopportunity to save the expression as an agent (step 2110). The programguide client provides the expression to program guide server 25 forprocessing at step 2120. The program guide client may for example,provide a boolean or natural language expression in a text file.Alternatively, the program guide client may construct suitable databaseexpressions and provide the expressions to program guide server 25 asone or more suitable database files (e.g., as SQL files).

If the user indicated a desire to save an expression as an agent at step2110, program guide server 25 may save the expression as an agent atstep 2130. Otherwise, program guide server 25 may process the expression(step 2140) using any suitable approach. This may depend on how theexpression was provided by the program guide client. If boolean ornatural language expressions were provided as text files, for example,program guide server 25 may parse the expressions and construct asuitable database expression. Alternatively, database expressions mayhave been provided by the program guide client. In either approach,program guide server 25 may search its database or databases at otherfacilities for program guide data (e.g., program listings, additionalprogram information, etc.), other information (e.g., software, Internetlinks, etc.), or videos (e.g., video-on-demand videos) and may providethe results to the program guide client at step 2150. At step 2160 theprogram guide client may display the results on user televisionequipment 22.

If the user indicated a desire to save the expression as an agent atstep 2110. Program guide server 25 may save the expression as an agentusing any suitable approach. Agents may be maintained, for example, in adatabase that program guide server 25 monitors periodically. If desired,the agent may be forwarded to other servers at other facilities, therebyproviding a user with the ability to monitor multiple databases forprogram guide data, other information, or videos. Agents may be runautomatically (e.g., databases may be queried) on one or more servers atstep 2145. Step 2145 may be performed periodically, each time a databaseis updated, or with any other suitable frequency. Program guide server25 may provide its results and the results of other servers (if desired)to the program guide client at step 2155. The program guide client maydisplay the results at 2165. The results may be displayed, for example,in the form of reminders for which reminder information was provided atstep 2155.

FIG. 23 shows a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in processingand using expressions on program guide server 25 in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention. If desired, the steps shown may beperformed in a client-server interactive program guide system in whichusers are not required to navigate the Internet. The program guideclient provides users with an opportunity to define an expression (e.g.,boolean or natural language expressions) at step 2100. This may include,for example, providing a user with an opportunity to select attributetypes, attributes and logical operators (steps 2102, 2104, and 2106,respectively). The program guide client provides the expression toprogram guide server 25 for processing at step 2210 as any suitable typeof file. The program guide client may for example, provide a boolean ornatural language expression in a text file. Alternatively, the programguide client may construct suitable database expressions and provide theexpressions to program guide server 25 as one or more suitable databasefiles (e.g., as SQL files).

Program guide server 25 may process the expression (step 2220) using anysuitable approach depending on how the expression was provided toprogram guide server 25 from the program guide client. If boolean ornatural language expressions were provided as text files, for example,program guide server 25 may parse the expressions and construct asuitable database expression. Alternatively, database expressions mayhave been provided to program guide server 25 from the program guideclient. In either approach, program guide server 25 may search itsdatabase or databases at other facilities and may provide the results tothe program guide client or use the results to perform any suitableprogram guide function.

Reminders may be scheduled based on the results of the search (step2230). Program guide server 25 may, for example, store reminderinformation (e.g., program identifiers and air times) at step 2235 andsend messages to the program guide client at an appropriate time beforea program starts. In another suitable approach, program guide server 25may process an expression and provide program identifiers and air timesto the program guide client. The program guide client may, for example,maintain a list of program identifiers and display program reminders atan appropriate time before the programs start.

Programs may also be automatically recorded by program guide server 25or user television equipment 22 based on the results of the expression(step 2240). Program guide server 25 may, for example, provide programidentifiers and air times to the program guide client. The program guideclient may, for example, maintain a list of program identifiers andprogram air times and may instruct optional secondary storage device 47or digital storage device 49 to record the programs at the appropriatetime.

Programs may be parentally locked based on the expression results (step2250). Program guide server 25 may, for example, store parental controlinformation (e.g., program identifiers in a database, table, or list ofprograms to be locked) at step 2260. Program guide server 25 mayindicate to the program guide client that programs are locked whenproviding program listings to the program guide client. Alternatively,program guide server 25 may indicate to the program guide client theprograms that were found as a result of the expression. The programguide client may lock the programs locally using any suitable approach.The program guide client may, for example, indicate that a program islocked by displaying lock indicator 161 when displaying locked listingsin a listing screen, as shown, for example, in FIG. 7.

FIG. 24 shows a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in tracking andusing viewing histories in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention. If desired, the steps shown may be performed in aclient-server interactive program guide system in which users are notrequired to navigate the Internet. Viewing histories are tracked at step2300. This may include tracking programs that users watch (step 2310),tracking reminders scheduled by a user with program guide server 25 orusing conventional techniques (step 2320), tracking pay-per-viewprograms that the user orders (step 2330), advertisement usage (step2335), track recorded programs (step 2337), track any other suitableuser activity, or any suitable combination thereof. The program guideclient may provide the viewing history information to program guideserver 25 continuously (i.e., each time the program guide clientdetermines that a user has watched a program for the predefined time),periodically, in response to polls or requests from program guide server25, or with any other suitable frequency.

The viewing history tracked in steps 2310-2335 may be stored on programguide server 25 at step 2340. If desired, user-defined expressions thatare processed by program guide server 25 may also be stored on programguide server 25 (step 2345). User demographic values may be calculatedby program guide server 25 at step 2347. The viewing history and itsexpressions and user demographic values may be used by program guideserver 25 to perform any suitable function. Program guide server 25 may,for example, collect program rating information (step 2350), or targetadvertising (step 2360).

Program guide server 25 may search its or another server's database forprograms that are consistent with the viewing history (step 2370). Ifdesired, program guide server 25 may find programs that are alsoconsistent with preference profiles stored by program guide server 25(step 2375). Program guide server may perform any suitable functionusing the results of the search. Program guide server 25 may, forexample, identify episodes of programs that are new to a user (step2380), or provide viewing recommendations in the form of, for example,reminders or recommendations for non-program items (e.g., software,Internet links, etc.) (step 2390).

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this inventionand various modifications can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

1. A method for using an interactive program guide, comprising: storinga viewing history with control circuitry, the viewing history comprisingmonitored interactions with the interactive program guide for at leastone user; identifying, with the control circuitry, programming the atleast one user has not watched based on the viewing history; generating,with the control circuitry, a program guide screen comprising at leastone user-navigable program listing for display on a display device,wherein the program guide screen is generated based on the identifiedprogramming the at least one user has not watched; and indicating on theprogram guide screen whether programming associated with each respectiveat least one program listing has not been watched by the at least oneuser.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one user-navigableprogram listing comprises a listing of recommended programming.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the listing of recommended programmingcomprises a listing of programming that meets a user preference profileof the at least one user.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the listingof recommended programming comprises a listing of programming that isconsistent with a viewing history of the at least one user.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising visually identifying eachrespective at least one program listing.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein each respective at least one program listing is visuallyidentified by displaying a suitable icon or changing a displaycharacteristic of the respective at least one program listing.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the at least one user-navigable programlisting is a listing of at least one episode in a series the at leastone user has not watched.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprisingusing a program listings database to determine whether the at least oneuser has watched programming associated with each respective at leastone program listing.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the viewinghistory is stored in a database.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein themonitored interactions comprise interactions with programming the atleast one user has watched, ordered, scheduled for recording, scheduledreminders for, or searched, or the length of time the at least one userinteracts with a program.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein theidentifying, with the control circuitry, programming the at least oneuser has not watched comprises comparing the viewing history with aplurality of program listings.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein: theviewing history comprises programming the at least one user has watchedfor longer than a predefined time period, and the programming the atleast one user has not watched is identified based at least in part onthe programming the user has watched for longer than the predefined timeperiod.
 13. A system that uses an interactive program guide, comprising:control circuitry operative to: store a viewing history, the viewinghistory comprising monitored interactions with the interactive programguide for at least one user; identify programming the at least one userhas not watched based on the viewing history; generate a program guidescreen comprising at least one user-navigable program listing fordisplay on a display device, wherein the program guide screen isgenerated based on the identified programming the at least one user hasnot watched; and indicate on the program guide screen whetherprogramming associated with each respective at least one program listinghas not been watched by the at least one user.
 14. The system of claim13, wherein the at least one user-navigable program listing comprises alisting of recommended programming.
 15. The system of claim 14, whereinthe listing of recommended programming comprises a listing ofprogramming that meets a user preference profile of the at least oneuser.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the listing of recommendedprogramming comprises a listing of programming that is consistent with aviewing history of the at least one user.
 17. The system of claim 13,wherein the user equipment is further operative to visually identifyeach respective at least one program listing.
 18. The system of claim17, wherein the user equipment is further operative to visually identifyeach respective at least one program listing by displaying a suitableicon or changing a display characteristic of the respective at least oneprogram listing.
 19. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least oneuser-navigable program listing is a listing of at least one episode in aseries the at least one user has not yet watched.
 20. The system ofclaim 13, further comprising a program listings database, wherein theuser equipment is operative to access the database to determine whetherthe at least one user has watched programming associated with eachrespective at least one program listing.
 21. The system of claim 13,further comprising a database, wherein the viewing history is stored inthe database.
 22. The system of claim 13, wherein the monitoredinteractions comprise interactions with programming the at least oneuser has watched, ordered, scheduled for recording, scheduled remindersfor, or searched, or the length of time the at least one user interactswith a program.